confed sailor
Member
what is this place? i guess they arent down south
BIG 5????
- Thread starter confed sailor
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Sheldon
Member
http://www.big5sportinggoods.com/
I just get shoes from them when they have what I like on sale. I did get my Swiss K31 rifle from them as well on sale for $90. They don't sell pistols, just a limited small selection of rifles and shotguns.
I just get shoes from them when they have what I like on sale. I did get my Swiss K31 rifle from them as well on sale for $90. They don't sell pistols, just a limited small selection of rifles and shotguns.
No_Brakes23
Member
I don't know one yuppy who would set foot in that store. They call it a "redneck" store.LBTRS said:
Is it named after the Big 5, Baseball, Basketball, Football, Hockey and Soccer?
Or is it the Big 5 of African game?
(I don't even know what those are, Elephant, Lion, ?,? and ?)
Around here it is more like a sporting goods store, that carries C&Rs.
The Big 5 by my house has high prices on the tags, but managers can often "do better." I just bought a box of ammo marked $18.99 there. I asked how much it was; the guy told me $12.99.
They have Mosin Carbines marked $179. But they go "on sale" often for $79. That's Gun Show pricing, without the hassle (or the $10 ticket and $8 parking fee at the local fairgrounds
). Just picked up a nice Yugo Mauser for $99, too. K31s are $89 right now. This is at a retail store where you can casually look them over and get the best examples.
I have the paperwork for my C&R but haven't sent it in yet. Barring that, Big 5 sells nice curios for the best prices if you understand the lay of the land there.
But it's no yuppie store. It's where the po folk get cheap sneakers for their kids. They often have good deals, right next to overpriced goods. Go figure.
They have Mosin Carbines marked $179. But they go "on sale" often for $79. That's Gun Show pricing, without the hassle (or the $10 ticket and $8 parking fee at the local fairgrounds
). Just picked up a nice Yugo Mauser for $99, too. K31s are $89 right now. This is at a retail store where you can casually look them over and get the best examples.I have the paperwork for my C&R but haven't sent it in yet. Barring that, Big 5 sells nice curios for the best prices if you understand the lay of the land there.
But it's no yuppie store. It's where the po folk get cheap sneakers for their kids. They often have good deals, right next to overpriced goods. Go figure.
Gunsnrovers
Member
Yuppy sporting goods store? First I've heard that description.
More like last years models at deep discounts. Certainly not the place to shop if you're looking for the greatest and latest, but a good place for decent pricing.
More like last years models at deep discounts. Certainly not the place to shop if you're looking for the greatest and latest, but a good place for decent pricing.
C-grunt
Member
I bought a mauser there a few years back for 90 dollars. Definitly not the best mauser Ive seen but it worked fine for a poor high school kid.
HighVelocity
Member
It's been a long time since I was in a Big 5 but the way it used to work is that you pick up something you want, go to the register and ask the clerk if the item has ever been on sale. If it has been on sale at some point, the clerk will sell it to you at the sale price. 
Big 5 stores are in AZ, NM and TX. I don't know where else. Their day-to-day prices are high; their sale prices are good. I'll have to try that "has it ever been on sale" approach. I have sen posts elsewhere stating that the SKS and Schmidt-Rubin rifles that they sell are in very good condition.
Tom
Tom
ID_shooting
Member
We have them here. They are worth keeping an eye on as thier sales are somtimes quite good. MN 91/30 @ $79, Yugo SKS @ $129, Mossy 500 defender @ $149, and Marlin 44 mag lever around $199 IIRC just to name a few.
You do get worse service that Wally World and they have thier own stupid policies for making up thier own laws. They made me fill out the back of the 4473 and sign on the line for picking up a firearm on a different day than the check was ran, even though no check was needed and I was picking up at the same time I filled out the form. I tried to resist, but they would have non of it. oh well
You do get worse service that Wally World and they have thier own stupid policies for making up thier own laws. They made me fill out the back of the 4473 and sign on the line for picking up a firearm on a different day than the check was ran, even though no check was needed and I was picking up at the same time I filled out the form. I tried to resist, but they would have non of it. oh well
Rupestris
Member
Big 5 is alot like Dunhams from the northern mid-west. I think Dunhams reaches as far as West Virginia and Minnesota.
There was another similar store here in MI called Oshmans or something like that. They opened one store in the Great Lakes Crossing (Mega) Mall.
I think its a Sports Authority now.
Sports Authority comes close to Dunhams and Big 5 but they do not carry Mil-Surp stuff.
There was another similar store here in MI called Oshmans or something like that. They opened one store in the Great Lakes Crossing (Mega) Mall.
I think its a Sports Authority now.
Sports Authority comes close to Dunhams and Big 5 but they do not carry Mil-Surp stuff.
JJE
Member
I got my Winchester 94 .357 magnum lever action rifle at Big 5 last year. They regularly have sales on the Winchester and Marlin lever actions as well as popular shotguns. Probably the only gun-related reason to go to Big 5. Ammo selection is spotty.
Wow, I've been in the store a couple times with some money burning a hole in my pocket and have not found anything other then high priced rifles/shotguns and very expensive ammo. The hunting, fishing, gun/shooting sections are almost non-existent. Yet they have hundreds of hockey sticks when there isn't a hockey game for 1000 miles.
I also noticed they have a large roller blade/skateboard section.
Not my kind of store at all. A real "sporting goods" store has 3/4 of it's space in hunting/fishing/guns and 1/4 in those other less important sports.
LBTRS
I also noticed they have a large roller blade/skateboard section.
Not my kind of store at all. A real "sporting goods" store has 3/4 of it's space in hunting/fishing/guns and 1/4 in those other less important sports.
LBTRS
Silver Bullet
Member
I used to watch for their sales on ammo and I'd buy a few boxes of 9mm.
Then I discovered that Wal-Mart had better prices on white box Winchester 9mm every day.
In fact, it was a Big 5 employee who gave me the tip.
Then I discovered that Wal-Mart had better prices on white box Winchester 9mm every day.
In fact, it was a Big 5 employee who gave me the tip.
simon
Member
Used to work at Big5. It was a good, fun, waste time kind of job. worked in Dept 1(guns,fishing,camping)
Got 3 Mn's, FR8,2 enfields,Cz Mauser,VZ24,1022 there.
Got 3 Mn's, FR8,2 enfields,Cz Mauser,VZ24,1022 there.
M-Rex
member
I'm heading up to the local Big-5 to put money down on a K-31 today. A buddy of mine just told me they were on sale. The one up here in Northern California have a fairly decent selection of rifles and shotguns.
TABING
Member
they have a sale every week and the sale prices are good. I picked up a Win 94 in 45colt and a Marlin 94 in 44mag for $300.00 or so and a Mossberg defender for $225. with 2 barrels. Granted, these are the lower end guns but they shoot just as well as the high end ones, the wood being the only difference.
SLCDave
Member
The Pacific Northwest yuppies must be a lot different than the ones in Nevada and Utah. Big 5 is ak OK store, but it will never be mistaken for high-end. Ammo prices seem rediculously high, rifle/shotgun prices are OK on sale, you can get older models of shoes at decent prices, cheaper team sports and golf equipment, etc. It's a Ghetto-Gart if you ask me.
tgfang said:
That "has it been on sale" works. Or say, "Hey, weren't you selling these in the last newspaper ad for $XX?" Fill in a price. They'll look it up, and sell it to you for the previous "sale price."
Knives and guns especially.
They sometimes have nice Enfields, K31s, and some amusing Mausers like ancient Turks, all for under $100 if you're patient, keep coming back and keep your eyes open. And $79 Mosins I can pick through for the best one with the tightest bolt are worth more than whatever AIM or the like sends me for a few buck less! Furthermore, you can put a nice one "on hold" for a few days while looking around, and then put a few guns on layaway for a few bucks each. Here in CA, where it costs $25 in fees to buy a gun there, that matters, because you can store them up and buy a few at once on a single $25 fee.
Sports Chalet is the Yuppie store in the Western US. Those of us who shop at Big 5 are considered rednecks and white/brown/whatever trash.
I used to get great deals on Milsurps at Big 5 before I got my C&R. When on sale, it's hard to beat their prices on "Plain Jane" versions of guns like Marlin 1894s, Mossy 500s, and Rem 870s.
Also when I was still buying milsurps from them, the clerks were nice and patient enough to keep pulling guns out of the back so I could "handpick" the one I wanted.
I used to get great deals on Milsurps at Big 5 before I got my C&R. When on sale, it's hard to beat their prices on "Plain Jane" versions of guns like Marlin 1894s, Mossy 500s, and Rem 870s.
Also when I was still buying milsurps from them, the clerks were nice and patient enough to keep pulling guns out of the back so I could "handpick" the one I wanted.
Polishrifleman
Member
+1 on the good sales, shoes, etc...
Just picked up some airsoft for my boys for $19.99 here in Washington.
Just picked up some airsoft for my boys for $19.99 here in Washington.
BenW said:
I believe Big 5 has special runs of Marlin 1894s. At least I've never seen them with plain hardwood stocks elsewhere. They're inexpensive that way, and arguably superior as truck guns, since the wood is denser and you don't care about scratching it or trashing the checkering.
Hell, I use my REI card at Big 5. Depends who's selling what I want, for the cheapest.
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